White Myth: Black People Love Food Stamps

Food Stamp Use By Race* (as of the 2010 FY)

Whites: 35% participation | 63.7% of US population
African Americans: 22% participation | 12.2% of US population
Hispanic: 10% participation | 16.3% of US population
Asian: 2% participation | 4.7% of US population
American Indian: 4% participation | 0.7% of US population
Unknown race: 19% participation | 0.2% of US population

*Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Census

.................. There are more white recipients of food stamp benefits – now aptly named the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – than there are black recipients. However, relative to their size of the population, African Americans disproportionately receive the benefits. It is a boldfaced lie to claim any group, white or black, can cause budgetary disarray if even 1 percent of that group fraudulently collected those benefits.

1. That table is confusing out of context. Here is a link to the source document. See top of page 57.

The "% participation" numbers refer to percentage of participants in participating households who hold the traits listed. IOW they will add up to 100 if you look at the whole table. They tell you nothing about what percentage of members of a particular group are collecting benefits.

The reason there are more white participants than black participants is simply because there are more white people in the population than there are black people.

11. Farmers too.

I'm strongly supportive of the food stamps program. But we miss the full implications of the progam when we fail to consider that it is a massive intervention in the free market for agricultural products that not only feeds people, but also serves as a price subsidy for farmers.

3. I believe this has "always" been true

I remember learning that the face of "food stamps"/ government assistance was white (adult) female and children ... this info came to me while I was in high school/ first years at the university during Reagan's reign of terror.

Facts that flew in the face of how Republicans portrayed aid recipients.

6. I'm just a little too young to remember that.

I remember seeing the klan handing out leaflets back in the 80's though. And being from a small town, I've always speculated as to which of my neighbors were underneath those robes.

I hope this is some kind of death throes that American racism is going through right now. I know it will continue for years and years underground, but maybe we will soon the the end of it's "acceptablitly" in polite society.

9. That was Alabama Governor George Wallace's inauguration speech in 1963

A sample of the looniness--

We invite the negro citizens of Alabama to work with us from his separate racial station . . as we will work with him . . to develop, to grow in individual freedom and enrichment. We want jobs and a good future for BOTH races . . the tubercular and the infirm. This is the basic heritage of my religion, if which I make full practice . . . . for we are all the handiwork of God.

10. +1000

12. Those numbers don't make your case

Nobody loves living on foodstamps. However, if 22 percent of participates of food stamp programs are African American and African Americans make up only 12.2 percent of the population, then that indicates a greater percentage of the African American population are on food stamps compared the percentage of the white population on food stamps.

22. This is true, but Republicans have a deliberate habit of peddling the blatant LIE that *MOST*

blacks receive public assistance, and that's not true. But it is true that *in proportion to their population* black Americans make up a relatively high percentage of those receiving assistance. It is NOT true, however, that most of us are on assistance. That is NOT what Republicans tend to point out, however.

13. There are a lot of ridiculous ideas about food stamps.

I've actually heard people say that the government gives food stamps to all black people, while making whites provide proof of income. I'm sure that these are the same people who believe that civil rights laws bestow "special rights" to certain minorities. People who believe such things are really going out of their way to be ignorant.

24. It means that 35% of food stamp recipients are white

23. No one LOVES to need food stamps!

I can't imagine anyone who enjoys being in this position. But I keep seeing that silly table and my question is: WTF is up with 19% "unknown race?!" What does that even MEAN? It's one-fifth of total participants and their race/ethnicity is unknown?

I call bullshit. It's a no-brainer: who has the highest poverty rate? That group will need to depend on government assistance the most because they don't have the luxury of asking wealthy family members for help! That is another aspect to all this.

Why even bother trying to cite this fuzzy math? Even if we "proved" that Black Americans as a group rely on public aid more than other groups, it doesn't let Newt off the hook in targeting that demographic (unless he was asked a specific question about Blacks and employment, which would make this whole thing unfair because it's taken out of context).

25. It is that simple.

If black people weren't disproportionately represented among the poor, they wouldn't be getting as much in food stamps. One can argue all day about why some people are poor and others aren't, but there is no denying that the mean income of black Americans is less than their white counterparts. This is race-baiting by the Republicans, pure and simple.

27. White Myth: Black People Love Food Stamps

What many people fail to understand is that 40% of all allotted money for the Food Stamp Program goes directly to RICH people under the guise of Subsidized Farming, where more than 90% are white people. Making them, the largest racial group to receive food stamps. The other 60% of the money goes for all peoples, including the white poor. What worries me is the attitude towards the Food Stamp Program, as if it was a sin. People taking care of other people is great in the eyes of any God. And even if 10% of the poor are fraudulent, I consider all subsidized farming a slap in the face, and fraudulent also. For to give the rich food stamps when so many really needed cannot be anything else but stealing and very bad management. So even though many of you don't agree with the figures in the article, the real numbers does not favor white people, for it shows that they are the winners in the "take more than you" game. We need to check ALL the facts and statistics before saying that blacks love food stamps. But in reality, who doesn't?